Are Grom-based Monkey and Cub bikes coming soon?

Honda has announced its lineup for the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show, and the listed display models include a few interesting machines.

There’s the usual collection of machines we won’t see in Canada, including the CB400 Super Four and Cross Cub 110, and the Riding Assist-E that we already told you about will also appear.

But there are also two new interesting 125 models listed—the Monkey 125 and Super Cub C125, both listed as concept bikes. There are no photos of the machines, but seeing that they’re based around 125 engines, we’d guess these bikes will almost assuredly be based around Honda’s wildly successful Grom engine. That air-cooled single-cylinder engine already powers the Honda Navi scooter in other markets, and for years, it’s been assumed Honda has plans to put it into other machines. A cafe concept from earlier this year helped further those suspicions. Honda also displayed a scramblerized version of the Grom a while back, which may actually be the Monkey 125, although it wasn’t known by that name at the time.

The time could be right for a neo-retro revival powered by the little engine. The Japanese OEMs seem to be realizing the potential for throwback designs based on their own history, and these machines could slot into that pattern nicely, if they make it to production.

Either way, we’ll at least get a good look at the concepts at Tokyo, especially if we can get Mark to swing by the stand for photos, since he’ll be attending the event this year.

The Canadian Motorcycle Guide

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